Across Missouri, Teamsters Mobilize for Pro-Union Candidates

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This is the second of several blogs in the next week that will detail the Teamsters’ Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort in advance of the Nov. 8 election.

ST. LOUIS -- With less than a week to go before Election Day, Teamsters are hitting the pavement hard in the Show Me state to get out the vote for the state’s gubernatorial and Senate candidates, Chris Koster and Jason Kander.

“The IBT has a sizable statewide member-to-member program, and we’re also working in conjunction with the BMWE and BLET Divisions, as well as veteran volunteers with bases of operations in Kansas City, Springfield, and St. Louis,” stated Missouri Statewide Political Coordinator and DRIVE Representative Kevin Currie. “We’re leaving no stone unturned in mobilizing our energized base of Teamster members for GOTV throughout the state of Missouri.”

Chris Koster, a two-term Attorney General and former state legislator, has made a name for himself in Jefferson City as a stalwart advocate of the state’s working families. During his campaign and throughout his career, he has not just promised to fight for prevailing wages and against dangerous right-to-work legislation, he has also delivered.

“We can move forward without right-to-work, without reducing the wages of some Missourians in order to benefit other Missourians,” Koster said in a campaign video posted online. “I want to lead a state where we all go forward together. We don’t advantage some by taking advantage of others.”

Missouri’s Democratic nominee for Senate, the 35-year-old Jason Kander, is also an impressive candidate. The current Secretary of State, a former Army Captain that served in Afghanistan, and a one-time member of the United Transportation Union, Kander stressed his commitment to Missouri’s working families at a rally last Friday with Vice President Joe Biden.

“When I signed up for the army, I did it for a desire to protect the entire country. I promise you, I did not volunteer to go to Afghanistan solely to protect the wealthiest 1% of Americans,” Kander stated. “For far too long, Congress has put millionaires and billionaires ahead of folks who are working multiple jobs, when 15 years ago they were making more money working one job. They’re putting all these folks behind, and the truth is that working Americans aren’t looking for a hand out, they’re looking for a level playing field.”

Drive Representatives, volunteers and TEAM members have been visiting Teamster worksites all over the state -- from our UPS Package Division, our Freight Division and warehouses -- to remind their fellow Teamsters about what’s at stake in this election. Thousands of members are being contacted every week as the race comes down to the final stretch, but in a perennial battleground state where competitive races are often won or lost by less than 10,000 votes, the sense of urgency could not higher.

“For this election cycle, we’ve been working hard on the ground in the state of Missouri signing members up for our PAC fund, DRIVE, since early spring of this year -- like every election cycle of every year -- and that’s giving us the energy and resources we need to win this election,” said Currie. “It’s going to be close, but I think we have what it takes.”